10 Film Directors Who Have Directed Commercials

'The Wolverine' director James Mangold isn't the only film director to shill for advertisers

David O. Russell – Ketel One
Russell’s three-part “Gentlemen, this is vodka” campaign reeks of cool, unlike Russell’s “I ate the bones” campaign for KFC, which features customers panicking that they’ve just eaten the bones in KFC’s boneless chicken. Russell’s Ketel One commercial shows the hippest young people around throwing the hippest young people party — with Ketel One flowing freely. Sony will release Russell’s “American Hustle” in December.

Kathryn Bigelow – Revlon
After conquering the Academy Awards with “The Hurt Locker,” Bigelow tackled another glamorous field: cosmetics. The Oscar-winner featured Jessica Biel in commercials for Revlon’s “Just Bitten” lip stain, with Biel enjoying an open meadow and a handsome love interest. Bigelow dove back into an intense wartime story with “Zero Dark Thirty” soon after, and is currently in development on a top-secret project with “Zero” scribe Mark Boal.

Zach Snyder – EB Beer
Anyone who has seen “300,” “Watchmen,” “Sucker Punch” or most recently, “Man of Steel” knows that Snyder is a fan of CGI and slow motion, so his spot for EB Beer shouldn’t be too much of a shock. The commercial features slow-mo scenes of Soviet soldiers partying wildly, complete with the soundtrack of Sid Vicious’s cover “My Way.” It was reportedly too controversial for TV and only shown in theaters, where the song was changed. Snyder’s currently in development on Warner Bros.’ and DC’s untitled Batman vs. Superman project.